Bruins salute beer-chugging Julian Edelman, say he rallied team, fans

Julian Edelman played an integral role in firing up the troops during Tuesday night’s Game 7 showdown between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden, and the hometown team credited the New England Patriots wideout with an assist of sorts for pumping up the team and the fans.

Edelman served as one of the Bruins’ honorary banner captains ahead of the game, along with Special Olympics Massachusetts athlete Meghan Colby.The Super Bowl LIII MVP’s frenetic flag-waving certainly got the crowd amped before the puck was dropped.

It was Edelman’s rallying efforts during the game that really got the crowd pumped up and frothy with excitement, however. With 4:29 remaining in the first period and the Bruins up 1-0, Edelman was shown on the TD Garden Jumbotron aggressively chugging a beer by holding the can high above his head and allowing gravity do the rest.

Julian Edelman pounds a beer to get the crowd pumped at Bruins/Leafs Game 7

Edelman’s beer-chugging antics didn’t only inspire the fans, as it apparently pumped up the Bruins’ bench, too. Following the Bruins’ first-round, series-clinching 5-1 victory, Edelman received due credit for rallying the team and fans.

“Julian Edelman chugging a beer was awesome,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game, via ESPN. “Probably got everyone fired up — including us. Good for him.”

Boston’s professional sports team share an arguably unparalleled and remarkable kinship and players and coaches are often spotted in the crowd supporting their in-city brethren at critical games. In that spirit, Cassidy promised to respond in kind the next time the Patriots find themselves in a must-win situation.

“We’ll return the favor, at some point down the road,” Cassidy said. “But I thought it was outstanding. That’s Game 7 playoff hockey for you, right there.”

Whether returning the favor will involve Cassidy chugging a beer at a Patriots game, though, remains to be seen.